All three students noted some benefits from the project. Student 1 claimed that he “spent the 20 minutes trying to analyse ‘live’ what I was doing and how I solved problems and created new challenges. This highlighted and concretised a process that was perhaps a bit more abstract than before. Every time I practise I do pretty much what I did during the project, but I’ve never been asked to think about what I do while I’m doing it, as we were in this project”. He insisted that “you can never be too aware” and recommended splitting a practice hour up into two or three segments with a 5-minute break in between, “because if you carry on for an hour, you could wake up and realise you’ve played the same bit three times without thinking. It’s better to do shorter and more focused sessions”. Moreover, he had come to the following realisation: “I can still gain a lot more by focusing and concentrating harder instead of just playing through the piece.”
Student 2 said she focused a great deal on being attentive and aware throughout the entire practice session. She described the effects of the project thus: “I became a bit more conscious of paying attention to detail, about zooming into a section of the piece and working out how much time I should spend on it. This awareness of ‘why am I doing this, what’s to be gained from it?’ makes me reflect on how I practise rather than just practise for practice’s sake.” She also stressed how important it is to “keep your head with you” and felt that it is beneficial to “take a break, do some stretching and return with renewed energy rather than keep going for an hour with the same energy levels”. She also made the following observation: “I’m not good at taking breaks.”
In response to the question of whether there was “anything to be gained from taking notes during the practice session”, the third student said: “Writing things down made me more aware of things.” This student said she had struggled with her concentration but had been able to work out how long she could practise in one go without losing focus – which was half an hour on each item. She takes breaks every hour, saying that “when working on a big piece that I need to learn, I will usually spend half an hour on that, 10 minutes on something else, then half an hour on the piece etc. in order give myself a break. And I create a plan. This makes it easier to see how much time I’ve got, that there is an end to my practice session, and not to carry on practising until it’s good enough”.
As we can see, they all felt that they had learnt something from the project. The students’ comments show that they were better able to manage their concentration and that they had probably got better at analysing their own practice, allowing them to make better use of their practice time. The question is whether these are lasting results. After the project, Students 1 and 2 stopped taking notes. Their reasoning was reflected in something Student 2 said: “After doing this for a week I was able to think about it without writing it down. I now spend more time thinking and not just playing.” If they keep this up, the diary method will at least have served part of its purpose by steering the students towards a way of thinking that boosts their concentration. Student 3 continued to note down what she was practising and how long she spent practising.
For her part, the teacher feels that “shining a spotlight on focused practice has helped open the eyes of Student 1 in terms of what to listen out for while practising. Student 2 seems to have become more aware of what she needs to practise and why. Student 3 continues to take a systematic approach, and she appears to apply more of the right ‘tools’ than before”. The teacher expects to have to return to the topic of practice regularly and bring it up at an early stage with new students.
The students’ experiences tally with the recommendations of practice research. Variation during practice, as described by Student 3, is considered important in order to maintain concentration. The German cellist and researcher Gerhard Mantel (Mantel, G. (1987). Cello üben. Eine Methodik des Übens für Streicher. Maintz: Schott), recommends practising with “rotating attention”. This involves rotating the exercises so that attention and concentration are “shifted” at regular intervals, thus making both easier to maintain.